Ex-American President Donald Trump and his family were found liable by a New York Judge for fraud and canceled the Trump organization’s certification to do business in the state, saying the Trumps provided false information for over a decade. The decision made by Justice Arthur F. Engoron in Manhattan’s New York court will make it easier for the state Attorney General Letitia James to put a penalty on the former President in his scheduled October 2 trial. The judge also ordered the cancellation of certificates prohibiting Trump’s businesses, including the Trump organization running in New York. It also ruled to appoint a receiver to manage the dissolution of the company.

The judge described that Donald Trump, his sons Donald Jr. and Eric, the Trump organization, and other defendants artificially made up the inflated values of Trump’s net worth to meet his business needs. Judge wrote in the ruling, “That is a fantasy world, not the real world.” Engoron also sanctioned the defendants’ lawyer for making bogus legal arguments and strengthening their client’s claims.

Donald Trump and other defendants argued that they had never committed fraud, that the transactions under challenge were profitable, and that they would challenge the ruling. Trump’s lawyer, Christopher Kise, expressed that Engoron made an outrageous decision that totally undermines the facts and the governing law. He added that the Trump family would go for all the possible means against that miscarriage of justice.

Trump Prohibited From Doing Business In New York State

Attorney General James said she would present the remaining cases at the trial. A scholar in residence for financial regulation at the University of Minnesota Law School, Bill Black, said the current ruling was devastating as canceling the business certificates would damage Trump’s ability to make money. Black added that if the order were enforced, LLCs (Limited Liability Companies) would have to be dissolved, which hold massive assets.

James expressed the judge has declared the ruling in their favor, which clearly presents the involvement of the Trump family in years of wrongdoings, and said she sought to present the rest of the cases on the October 2 trial. This ruling has posed a significant setback for the former President as it has undermined all his claims of not inflating the actual worth of his properties like Golf courses, homes, hotels, and homes at Mar-a-Lago and Seven Springs in financial documents primarily used in business.

The attorney general has instructed a fine of $250 million. The Trumps would be prohibited from serving any business as a boss in New York and stop the company from being involved in any business transactions in the state for five years. Two properties in New York fall under lawsuit: the commercial tower at 40 Wall Street and the Trump family compound at Seven Springs. However, the whole document of the ruling still needs to be published. A question still remains as to how the receivers would dissolve the properties. It needs to be made clear whether the order would impact the properties outside New York State, including Mar-a-Lago, and if the Trumps were allowed to transfer assets out of New York into a new company out of state.

Trump Called The Judge “DERANGED”

James sued the former US President Donald Trump in 2022. Trump, his three adult children, and the Trump organization were accused of lying for an extended period about actual asset values and doing fraud to banks and insurers into offering a better term. The judge, Engoron, stated that James submitted solid proof that Donald Trump had raised his net worth by between $812 million and $2.2 billion. Judge had a clear objection to Trump’s claims that his penthouse was 30,000 square feet, which is almost three times its actual size, which eventually raised its price to as much as $207 million. Engoron added that a real estate developer’s overvaluation of his own living space for over a decade could only be declared a fraud.

Donald Trump has maintained consistent fame among the public and is seeking a presidential nomination for the 2024 elections despite facing several criminal charges. According to recent polls, he is considered the most prominent candidate for the White House with considerable public support. After Engoron’s decision, Trump said on his Truth Social Platform that accusations against him were absurd and ridiculous and called Engoron a “DERANGED” judge favoring James, a Democrat.